Disabled and infirm people make use of canes, walkers, and crutches to aid in their walking. One making use of a pair of crutches usually has one hand gripping each of the crutches, such that both hands are occupied while the injured person makes use of the crutches. In similar fashion, a walker, which consists of four legs and handles, is customarily gripped by both hands for stability. Baby strollers and the like are also customarily made to be gripped by both hands of an adult pushing the stroller. A cane, on the other hand, is intended to be gripped by one hand. For the purpose of this discussion, all of the forgoing types of devices are hereinafter generally referred to generally as “walking members.” Such walking members require the use of at least one hand and in most cases, both hands. When one makes use of such walking members for his or her own stability, one cannot release his or her grip on the handles of the walking member when such devices are in use.
One common problem encountered by disabled and elderly people who make use of walking members is the need to see the ground across which the person is traversing. A person using a walker, cane, or crutches must know if the ground being traversed is uneven in order to avoid stumbling and falling. In many cases, the ambient lighting is insufficient for the user of the walking member to see the contour of the ground across which he is traversing and, therefore, he may stumble and fall even though the person has used his or her best efforts to view the ground. There is therefore a great need for the users of walking members to have a flashlight or other means built into the walking member to illuminate the underlying ground across which one is traversing.
In view of the above, one would expect that it would be common for the manufacturers of walking members to provide products having a light that could be actuated from the handle of the walking member to enable the user to illuminate the underlying ground. There are, in fact, numerous patents which protect various configurations in which lights are attached to canes, walkers, and the like. Not withstanding the need to provide illumination to the users of walking members, to the knowledge of the applicant, there are no walking members currently on the market that are provided with a lighting device operable from the handle of a walking member to illuminate the underlying ground. Presumable, such walking members are relatively inexpensive devices and the manufacturers thereof are not motivated to offer options to their customers of such devices. Regardless of the reasons of the manufacturers and sellers of such devices, walking members having lighting fixtures operable from the handles thereof for illuminating the underlying ground are not available to the public.
Substantially, the same problem exists for the users of baby strollers. Normally, two hands are needed to properly operate a baby stroller. It is desirable for the user of a baby stroller to avoid obstacles and irregular ground across which the stroller is being maneuvered, but nonetheless, baby strollers are typically not fitted with lighting fixtures.
In view of the forgoing, it would be desirable to provide a device, which would be attachable to the hand gripping portion of a walking member for retrofitting the walking member to enable it to illuminate the ground across which the user of the walking member is traversing.